Hawaii

Civil Beat, published by Peer News LLC, is an investigative and watchdog journalism outlet focused on public affairs reporting in Hawaii. Civil Beat was denied a request for the names and disciplinary information of 12 Honolulu Police Department officers who were allegedly suspended but not discharged. When Peer News went to court, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) intervened in the suit in support of the HPD. The trial court ordered that the records be released. In an appeal brought by SHOPO, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed an amicus brief arguing that state law recognizes that the only viable and reasonable method of protecting the public's interests is to open up government records to scrutiny.

The Supreme Court of Hawaii this week in Oahu Publications Inc. v. The Honorable Karen Ahn upheld a strong public right of access to criminal proceedings and announced a series of procedures to protect that right. The ruling comes after a trial court judge held five secret sessions and sealed the transcripts of those sessions during a high-profile murder trial.

The decision stressed that judicial proceedings are presumptively open. The high court held that, in order to close a courtroom or seal transcripts, a judge must show on the record what compelling interest would be harmed by public disclosure, the substantial risk to that harm, and any alternatives to public access that the court considered but found insufficiently protective.

The Hawaii judge who closed the courtroom multiple times during the last day of a high-profile murder trial has unsealed the transcripts from that proceeding in response to a motion by The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii's police union intervened in the case to argue officers had a privacy interest in protecting their records from disclosure. Hawaii's public records law has an exemption for police disciplinary records when the misconduct does not result in the officer being fired.

Just five years after passing its groundbreaking media shield law, Hawaii lawmakers have effectively killed any hopes of adopting a permanent version of the law, which is set to expire next month.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate passed differing versions of the law this week that would protect journalists from disclosing confidential sources and notes. With the Legislature set to adjourn this week, the disagreement between the House and Senate ensures the current shield law will expire on June 30.

A panel of Hawaii lawmakers on Thursday approved a draft that severely limits the soon-expiring state reporter shield law.

The most current version of the bill -- seen as a compromise between House and Senate versions -- removes protections for free newspapers, expands the circumstances under which law enforcement authorities can subpoena journalists’ notes and excludes protections for bloggers.

Hawaii lawmakers are expected to meet again this week to work on reconciling competing versions of a bill to make the state’s reporter shield law permanent.

H.B. 622 was originally drafted to remove the law's June 30 expiration date. But lawmakers in both the state House and Senate passed amended versions of the bill limiting who can take advantage of the privilege.

The Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee approved an anti-paparazzi bill that would allow people who are photographed on their private property or while taking part in “personal or family activities” to sue the photographer for invasion of privacy.